Alfred's Investigative Agency Case 2
by Weirdsisters99
Summary: Maddie hears from an old friend. Something weird is going on at her old school and it's worrying. That plus the resurfacing of memories best left forgotten have her on edge. Will she be able to save her old school, or will the mysterious force be to much for her and the team? Let's see. T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

MADDIE POV

Maddie walked into the agency briskly, wanting to escape from the cold as soon as possible. The November air was beyond chilling, the agency had already received more than enough snow to last them a couple of years. Ivan was probably the only one enjoying the cold weather, forcing Tao to build a family of snowmen in the yard behind the flowerbeds with him. He was such a child sometimes. Pulling off her coat and a scarf that Francis had given her, she hesitated before taking off her gloves. She was starting to get a hang of her powers now. Taking her glasses off before they could fog up, she looked around. No one was there, all probably out Early Christmas shopping.

A pile of mail was left on the table near the door. Picking up one that had her name on it, Maddie was surprised to find that it was from Roderich Edelstein, her old music teacher and the person who had suggested she join the agency. Tearing it open, she wasn't surprised by the letter inside, the Austrian man was so old school.

_Dear Madeline,_

_I hope that you are doing well in your new job. Ludwig is my adoptive son and has let me know that you made the job and told me of your abilities. I am sorry to say that things have not been going well at the school. Now being the principal I have noticed some strange things going on. Ludwig says that he is hesitant to tell the others about the problem since he isn't normally very open, so I am asking you to call upon your new friends to help our school._

_I hope you will consider this,_

_Roderich_

Looking up from the letter, Maddie couldn't help but remember how odd Ludwig had been acting. He would look at her with a questioning gaze, she had thought it was just because she was a little odd at moments. She quickly dropped her stuff off to her room, continuing into the rec room to examine the letter again.

"Maddie?" Francis's voice broke her out of her reverie. She looked up to see the entire group staring at her. Ludwig caught sight of her letter and gave a small sigh of relief.

"Sorry, were you talking to me?" She asked. The group gave her a worried look.

"We've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes. _Êtes-vous d'accord? Est votre estomac ou de la tête nuisent à nouveau?_" Francis hurried over to her placing a hand on her cheek. She flinched instinctively, but once again nothing happened as their skin made contact. Getting his meaning, having practiced her French.

"Not really, just the normal ache. But that wasn't why I… I was just thinking. I got a letter from an old friend, it sounds like he is having supernatural issues at the school he works at. Do you think that we could check it out?" She asked.

"I don't see why not, we need the cash since we haven't had a case since the Lady in White's. Where is the school?"

"The school is in Maine. We can probably stay with the family, isn't that right Ludwig?" All attention turned to the silent German.

"Yes. Roderich vould love to have us. Though I vill apologize ahead of time for my **bruder**."

"You have a brother?" Alice asked. "And did you know about this previously?"

"Sadly yes, and he has a tendency to annoy." He paused for a minute, "I did not vant to mention my adoptive father's predicament in case you vould dismiss it as an emotionally attached suggestion."

"You mean to tell me that Roderich has been having problems and you didn't tell me!" Felicia yelled. "He raised me too!"

"**Es tut mir leid**, Feli. I did not mean to upset you."

"Okay, now we're confused." Alfred spoke for all of them. "Could someone please explain how you three all know this guy?"

"He was my old music teacher when I went for an associates degree. He was very kind and suggested I come see if I could get a job here." Maddie explained, "I didn't know that he knew Felicia and Ludwig until now. So how do you two know him, eh?"

"As I said before he is my adoptive father. He took me and my bruder, Gilbert in after our parents died. He is technically my uncle twice removed. He raised us and… dealt with my abilities the best he could. Felicia has known our family for a while."

"I kind of ran away from home when I was younger, ve. Too much of a nerd for the other kids in the neighborhood to handle." Felicia shrugged. "Ludwig got me out of trouble with the cops." Her eyes said that she didn't want to talk about it.

Maddie shifted in her seat. The air had become still. Everyone knew that each person in the room had a hard life before the agency, they just tried to forget it, acting as each other's family. When the past got brought up, most did not want to speak of past troubles. - "_Why was I cursed with raising such a freak?" Her mother sighed loudly, unaware that Maddie was listening from the door, tears streaming down her cheeks.- "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." She would whimper as she cried herself to sleep, just wishing that she could make her parents happy._\- She shook the memory away, feeling herself get teary eyed. Dwelling on the past would not help her now.

Francis noticed her struggle and changed the topic. "We should get ready to help the friend of our friends, _non_? Maddie do you want to help me move everything from the car before we go?" She quickly nodded at the escape from the pressing silence.

**Translations:**

_Êtes-vous d'accord? Est votre estomac ou de la tête nuisent à nouveau?_\- Are you okay? Is your stomach or head hurting again?

**Bruder**\- brother

**Es tut mir leid**\- I am sorry

**Author's Notes:**

Hello again, I just wanted to say that this fanfic is getting more and more fun. I apologize now because It is taking me so long to update. It was finals week and I had like 4 projects going on so it took a while, plus these stories take a while to write! I will try to hurry though but I might just end up on an odd schedule of uploading when I have the time. That plus the fat that my computer privileges are few and far between so I will try. ONCE AGAIN SORRY! I hope that you are getting the _Koutora-san_ references that I have fit into the story as Maddie's past. Very sad series even with that weird guy in it. I even cried. Anyways, yes I am bringing 'de Awesome' Prussia into this. I know it will make all Prussia fans happy- me included. I will stray from the JPIA on his stance. He will not try to kill Francis so, I'm sorry. Actually I am bringing in the Bad Touch Trio- Antonio is his roommate and Francis is going to get along with them so well. I know. I am evil. Especially to Roderich where they all come over for dinner. Also, no markings for German because I am lazy. I will shut up now and move onto Part 2!


	2. Chapter 2

MADDIE POV

"Maddie, Ludwig, Felicia, it's good to see you all." A tall, brown-haired man called out to them as they approached the school. Standing proud and straight, Roderich Edelstein carried himself like gentlemen, as always. He even dressed the part with a blue pinstriped suit and bowtie. His mole stuck out against his pale skin, though he would insist it was a beauty mark. His slicked back hair was longer than Ludwig's, and a stray curl refused to stay put with it. Behind him, a petite woman in a green dress with lilac trimming stood, brandishing a frying pan. Her strawberry blonde hair flowing past her mid back. She looked like she had stepped out of a cooking show.

Ignoring the steady glare of the woman, Maddie was the first to hug the new principal. "It's good to see you, Mr. Edelstein."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Roderich?" He chuckled. He turned to look at Ludwig and Felicia, who stood shyly to the side. "What, do you not see me as family anymore? Come here." He pulled them into a giant hug, until Ludwig looked like he would die of embarrassment.

"Vhere is Gilbert? He normally ditches class vhenever he can. Especially if I come to visit." Ludwig asked, looking around the area.

"That idiot is in detention for the next three hours."

"Vhat did he do now?"

"He toliet papered my office and the entire school within an hour. He says he didn't have help, but I think Antonio helped him. They both have it out for me." Roderich sighed. Turning to gesture at the woman behind them, who had stopped glaring by now, he said, "I want you to meet Eliziveta, she is the new assistant principal when she isn't teaching Home Economics. Eliziveta, this is my adoptive son, Ludwig, Felicia, Maddie. and their friends. They've come here to help us with the… um, problems."

"It's a pleasure," Eliziveta spoke in a melodic voice.

"Um, Roderich, where do you want us to put all of the equipment?" Maddie asked.

"You can take it to the spare Science Lab. It's on the right side of the building, near the old cafeteria." She smiled and dragged Felicia off to the van to help. As much as she had been bullied here, she still loved to be back.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" Alfred asked once they had all settled down. Tao and Felicia were still setting up the equipment, turning computers on, and the sort. They had both insisted that Maddie take a break after she had nearly lost her lunch. Francis was holding her in his arms in a soothing manner, trying to comfort her. Roderich had looked at them oddly for the first few minutes, but by now he had become used to the Canadian's and Frenchman's open affection. Alice and Alfred had taken to sitting on the counters of the dissection lab, met with a look of disgust from the prim and proper principal. Ivan and Ludwig had left to go put up smaller cameras in the other classrooms, posing as janitors to not frighten the teachers that had stayed after school to work.

"Well, it all started getting worse about a month ago, when a couple of students died in a freak accident. They had crashed at a nearby office, no sign of alcoholic influence of anything. That at least was the most extreme of things. Once, we came in at six to find that the computer lab had been fried, everything blown to bits for the most part. Gilbert swears he didn't do it, and I believe him. We lock the doors with a key that only I have. On occasion the boiler room will reactivate at random, and someone in the nurse's office will hear voices that are just a jumbled mess. We've had students go crazy at random moments in class, tearing apart the room, only to pass out and wake up with no memory of doing anything. Last week, half of the staff quit, convinced that this place is haunted." He sighed. "Frankly, I don't know what to do. This place is going to **auseinanderfallen.**" Even though they didn't necessarily know German, they could guess what the Austrian man was getting at.

"So you want us to figure out what is going on at the school, fix it, and that's it?" Alfred restated.

"Yes, I don't want to have to close down the school for being a danger to the students."

"Okay then, so we should probably do this at night. We don't want to get any students involved." Alice put in.

"Yes, but please, before you start, I would love to have you all over for dinner. It is not often that Ludwig comes home to visit."

"That's fine with me!" Alfred smiled. If there was one thing he was always craving beside adventure, it was food. Just in time, Ludwig and Ivan arrived, this time with another guy in tow. He had stark white hair, red eyes, and a mischievous smile.

"**Hallo**!" He yelled obnoxiously. Maddie smiled slightly as both Ludwig and Roderich facepalmed. "So what's up?!"

"Be more quiet, Gilbert. You are being obnoxious." Ludwig sighed.

"But I don't wanna be quiet!" He yelled again, jumping onto a table and peering closer at Francis. "I like you. You might be just as awesome as me, let's be friends." He held out his hand to him, which he took, immediately deciding that disagreeing with the prankster would not be wise. Turning his attention to Maddie, Gilbert said. "What up Maddie? Long time no see. Do you still make those awesome pancakes of yours?"

"Y-yes." She managed. She remembered him from her only semester of college. They had gone on a couple of dates before she had decided that she couldn't handle him.

"Aw, don't be scared, Birdie. I don't bite, besides you seem have an awesome boyfriend now, not as awesome as me, but still cool. I won't bring up the past. Don't worry." She blushed as he said the word 'boyfriend'. She and Francis weren't- wait why did she just assume that he was talking about Francis. Her face went even redder at the thought.

"You two know each other?" Roderich asked.

"Yes. We were in the same history class." Gilbert said, jumping off of the table. "Now I think I heard something about dinner. Are you cooking your crappy food? Or are you letting me cook?" Roderich looked about ready to slap the German when Eliziveta did it for him... with her frying pan. He crumpled to the ground in pain. Ludwig was at his brother's side at a moment's notice, a look of concern etched on his face, and he was helping his brother to his feet.

"Come on, **älterer bruder**. Vhy don't ve head home."

**Translations:**

**auseinanderfallen**\- fall apart

**Hallo**\- Hello

**älterer bruder**\- older brother

**Author's Notes:**

Yes, I made Austria nice-ish. Deal with it. Also, most of these chapters are going to be shorter now since I don't have the resilience to make them longer. So what do you think of Prussia? Is he good enough. And yes, I am slightly fond of PruCan (More so than FruCan) so I made it so that they were a past couple. Another note, I am downplaying Prussia's jerk side and saving it for problems with authority figures more than anything. I am so happy that the Bad Touch Trio got added (pat on the back for those who figured it out) in because I am a slight fangirl of theirs.


	3. Chapter 3

LUDWIG POV (get ready for a lot of German)

"**So... wie geht es dir?**" Gilbert asked after the silence had stretched long enough. The others were in the living room, getting used to the house, leaving the two brothers to cook. Gilbert had decided to cook some sausage casserole, and was stirring the mixture together. Ludwig had started making bread, knowing full well that while Gilbert was one of the best cooks he knew, he still made his meals a little strong. It was just like old times, at least the times that he could remember. "**Sind Ihre Waffe Dinge immer noch an?**"

"**Ja.**" Ludwig put the bread in the oven, concentrating more on it than his brother's questions. "**Was ist mit dir? Sie schreiben mir nie.**"

"**Nichts Neues. Einfach fahren Roderich verrückt. Ähnliche alt me . Schreiben Sie nicht, weil ich nicht brauchen, um zu wissen, dass Sie gut sind, wo Sie sind. Brüderliche Instinkt.**" Gilbert said, pouring his concoction in a glass bowl and placing it beside his brother's bread.

"**Gute.**"

"**Erinnern Sie sich noch, noch?**"

"**Nein. Ich denke immer noch, sollten Sie sagen Sie mir nur.**"

"**Zur Zeit keine tun können. Sie haben, um es herauszufinden auf eigene Faust, welche Art von Bruder wäre ich, wenn finden Sie nicht auf eigene Faust?**" Ludwig gave him a pointed stare.

He was about to say something when Felicia popped her head in. "Hi guys! Do you need help with dinner?"

"No, Feli. Ve are doing just fine. You can set the table if you vant to and tell the others that dinner vill be done in a little vhile." His gaze lingered on her as she left.

"**Immer noch Hals über Kopf für sie? Dude, du bist wie ein Narr. Warum nicht einfach fragen sie nach einem Datum?**" Gilbert elbowed Ludwig knowingly. He looked away, knowing that it was futile to lie to Gilbert.

"**Sie wissen, warum kann ich nicht fragen**."

"**Dennoch ist sie eine hübsche fräulein. Schade, dass Sie ihr gesagt zu starten aus und versuchte, nett zu sein. Sie war so einsam, und jetzt das einzige einsam sind Sie.**" Ludwig glared at him again. They stayed like that, Gilbert smirking knowingly and Ludwig fighting to win against his brother's words. A ding let them know that the food was ready, when they finally moved. "You know-"

"**Halt die Klappe, Bruder.**" Ludwig hissed as they carried the food in. Gilbert just smiled in a mischievous manner yet again, and made his way with the casserole. Everyone was seated at the large round table. Maddie still seemed green from before, resting her head on Francis's shoulder. Unfortunately for Tao, she was situated between both Ivan and Felicia, who had made it their goal to annoy her. Alice was talking Alfred's ear off about proper meal etiquette while Roderich sat in between Eliziveta and two empty seats, her giving her approving nods. Gilbert took the seat closest to Roderich, annoying both Ludwig and him, and forcing Ludwig to sit next to Felicia.

The italian of course was eager for him to sit next to her, patting his seat for emphasis. Shooting yet another glare at Gilbert, he took his seat. The dinner was delicious according to everyone, and soon the dinner had turned to leisure conversation. "So what was it like growing up here?" Alfred asked the two brothers through a mouthful of food. They both shifted uncomfortably.

"Ve, they didn't grow up here silly." Felicia explained for them, "Roderich took them in when Ludwig was about twelve, right Ludwig?"

"**Ja.**"

"So where did you grow up?" Alice asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Yeah, **bruder** here has a bad case of amnesia." Gilbert put an arm around his shoulder as he spoke. "Can't remember anything except waking up in the police station from being runaways."

"Really, why didn't you tell us, Ludwig?" Alfred looked at him with a frown.

"Never came up." He looked away from them. In truth he didn't want to be some pity case, like with Roderich. Those first couple of years of coddling only made him grumpy and reserved. Now they would all treat him like some broken person. Felicia saw his discomfort and quickly changed the topic.

"Anyways, when Ludwig found me being chased by cops, he felt sorry for me so he pretended to be a distant family member who was having me over so I wouldn't have to go to school."

"Well that was sweet of him," Alice put in. "Who knew our Ludwig could be such a charmer." He blushed brightly at the thought of him 'charming' Felicia in any degree. Looking at her watch, Alice said. "We'd better be going now if we want to start catching this thing causing your problems. Let's go."

"Hey! I thought that I got to be boss!" Alfred yelled. She slapped him on the back of the head and made her ways toward the door. The others followed her lead, but before he could leave, Gilbert caught his arm.

"**Seien Sie vorsichtig, bruder.**"

Ludwig smiled before saying, "**Immer.**"

**Translations:**

**So... wie geht es dir?**\- So… how have you been?

**Sind Ihre Waffe Dinge immer noch an?**\- Are your weapon things still going on?

**Was ist mit dir?**\- What about you?

**Sie schreiben mir nie.**\- You never write to me.

**Nichts Neues. Einfach fahren Roderich verrückt. Ähnliche alt me . Schreiben Sie nicht, weil ich nicht brauchen, um zu wissen, dass Sie gut sind, wo Sie sind. Brüderliche Instinkt.**\- Nothing new. Just driving Roderich crazy. Similar old me. Don't write because I don't need to to know that you are fine where you are. Brotherly instinct.

**Gute**\- Good

**Erinnern Sie sich noch, noch?**\- Remember, yet?

**Nein. Ich denke immer noch, sollten Sie sagen Sie mir nur.**\- No. I still think that you should just tell me.

**Zur Zeit keine tun können. Sie haben, um es herauszufinden auf eigene Faust, welche Art von Bruder wäre ich, wenn finden Sie nicht auf eigene Faust?**\- Sorry, no can do. You have to figure it out on your own, what kind of brother would I be if I don't let you find out on your own?

**Immer noch Hals über Kopf für sie? Dude, du bist wie ein Narr. Warum nicht einfach fragen sie nach einem Datum?**\- Still head over heels for her? Dude, you're such a fool. Why not just ask her on a date?

**Sie wissen, warum kann ich nicht fragen**.- You know why I cannot ask.

**Dennoch ist sie eine hübsche fräulein. Schade, dass Sie ihr gesagt zu starten aus und versuchte, nett zu sein. Sie war so einsam, und jetzt das einzige einsam sind Sie.**\- Nevertheless, she is a pretty miss. Too bad you told her to start dating, trying to be nice. She was so lonely, and now the only lonely one is you.

**Halt die Klappe, Bruder.**\- Shut up, brother.

**Seien Sie vorsichtig, bruder.**\- Be careful, brother.

**Immer**\- always

**Author's Notes:**

Hallo! Yeah, so big thing here. I love the HRE=DE theory so I incorporated it in here where Ludwig has amnesia but like always Gilbert won't tell him what is going on. I hope that that wasn't too much German for you, because I did warn you. Another note, yes Luddy is in love with Feli since GerIta is awesome and Gilbert is the huge shipper. It was just so cute how the German brothers are like Dean and Sam that I had to fit it in (with Gil being Dean of course). We aren't just going to learn about Ludwig though, be prepared from some FruCan touchy feely sharing of past. UGH, I am going to puke! Lastly, I really enjoyed writing from other's POV so I will probably do it again, just not so soon.


	4. Chapter 4

MADDIE POV

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Maddie asked once they were all circled around the computer. Francis held her deftly again, she was starting to become addicted to being held by him. After all, he was the only person with whom she could make physical contact with. And she craved it more than anything.

"Any sign of strange stuff. Things moving in an empty room, cameras going out at random, anything." Alfred said over the crunching of his potato chips. "It's more than likely we could just be dealing with a poltergeist. If so we just have to find the source."

"With our luck it will be some sort of evil spirit that wants to kill us all." Alice replied dryly. No one said anything.

After a while Maddie broke the silence, "I need some fresh air, this old lab is super smelly."

"I'll go with you, it's best to go together_. Juste au cas où_." Francis said. Exiting the room, she breathed in the fresher and better smelling air quickly. Smiling, she looked back at Francis to smile but as she did, something went wrong. She leaned against a wall for support as an agonizing pain flashed through her stomach. Trying her best to ignore it, she walked towards the Frenchmen. Francis watched her with amusement, before noticing her pained gaze. "_Est quelque chose de mal? Maddie, dites-moi!_"

"Stomach-" she managed as she fell to the ground, the pain too raw to stand up on her own. Francis hurried to her side, helping her onto her feet. "The infirmary," she said through clenched teeth, "it's-is just down the hall." Maddie yelped as the pain inflamed once they were halfway to the infirmary. Francis scooped her up in his arms, running her the rest of the way, scared for his, in his mind, _petite amie_. The infirmary was fairly large, able to fit around ten cots inside and still have room for first aid cabinets. Laying her down on one of the cots, Francis quickly hurried to get her something for the pain.

As she lay there, a warm pit of dread began to form within her. Something wasn't right. This room pulsed with dark energy. Standing up suddenly, she collapsed on the floor. "Maddie! _Que faites-vous? Retournez dans le lit!_" Francis yelled. forcing her back into the cot.

"S-something isn't right, this room f-feels strange." She whispered, glancing around through her pained haze. Francis reached out with his own abilities, yet felt nothing.

"There is nothing here, _mon amie_." He said. Of course he was wrong. The door was quickly slammed shut by some force, but they were the only ones there. He hurried for the door, trying the handle, locked. That was strange. Roderich had mentioned that the doors were all locked by his key and only his key.

Maddie watched Francis's troubled face and knew what had happened in an instant. They were locked in until the others found them. She groaned as the strange presence slowly left, leaving her stomach to calm down just as sudden as it had come. Still unsure, she merely sat up on the cot. "S-so how long do you think until the others come after us, eh?"

"If Alice doesn't notice we're gone_, un certain temps._" He admitted grimly. He walked over to her and sat down. "Are you alright now?"

"_Oui_\- It went away once the weird feeling went away." They sat in silence. "So… what should we do to pass the time?"

"_Je aimerais vous parler de quelque chose._"

"About what?"

"Gilbert."

"Oh… what about him?"

"Did you two use to be a couple?"

Maddie hesitated. "Yes. But things didn't click so we broke it off on mutually good terms. We're just friends now."

"Good." She looked at Francis. He was avoiding eye contact, staring at the far wall but she couldn't help but detect a hint of jealousy in his face.

"Wait a minute… are you jealous of Gilbert?" She asked.

"_Non. Je ne ai rien à envier. Vous venez de dire vous-même, vous n'êtes pas un couple. D'ailleurs, il a même reconnu le fait que nous sommes quelque chose de plus que des amis._" Maddie went bright tomato red. Did he really just say that?

"W-what d-do you m-mean by that?" She squeaked.

"_Vous savez ce que je veux dire_." He smiled at her, all charm back to normal. "_Vous sentez-vous la même chose?_"

"Y-yes. But you wouldn't want me for a girlfriend." She looked at her gloved hands, in shame. This would just end up like all the other times. She couldn't let herself get close to people. Maddie could feel herself tear at the heart. But she couldn't. She couldn't let Francis end up hating her like her mother, or allow him to become like her father.

A flash of concern made itself evident on Francis's face. "Why do you say that?" He asked, trying to encompass her in his arms. She flinched and he withdrew. "Maddie?"

"I'm sorry. _Désolé. Désolé. Désolé._" She whimpered as tears began to stream down her face. Why did this have to happen to her? It hurt so bad. She couldn't help but sob, her whole body shaking with the powerful waves of emotion.

"Oh, Maddie. You have _rien_ to apologize for." He pulled her close, ignoring her weak protests. After a few minutes of her sobbing he asked, "Why do you do this to yourself? It helps no one."

"S-so you w-won't g-get hurt." She mumbled into his shirt.

Stroking her hair, he said, "_Vous ne allez pas me faire de mal._ Why would you think that?"

"Because I hurt everything I touch." She whispered lowly, allowing the memories to play.

**Translations:**

_Juste au cas où_\- Just in case

_Est quelque chose de mal? Maddie, dites-moi!_\- Is something wrong? Maddie, tell me!

_petite amie_\- I'm not going to translate this. Do it yourself.

_Que faites-vous? Retournez dans le lit!_\- What are you doing? Get back into bed!

_mon amie_\- my friend

_un certain temps_\- some time.

_Je aimerais vous parler de quelque chose_\- I would like to talk to you about something

_Non. Je ne ai rien à envier. Vous venez de dire vous-même, vous n'êtes pas un couple. D'ailleurs, il a même reconnu le fait que nous sommes quelque chose de plus que des amis._\- No. I have nothing to be jealous of. You just said it yourself, you aren't a couple. Besides, he even acknowledged the fact that we are something more than friends.

_Vous savez ce que je veux dire_\- You know what I mean

_Vous sentez-vous la même chose?_\- Do you feel the same?

_rien_\- nothing

_Vous ne allez pas me faire de mal_\- I won't get hurt (more or less)

**Author's Notes:**

DUN! DUN! DUN! Muahahahahahaha! So what do you think? I had a little FruCan in there… well actually a whole butt load of it, but hey, what's an author going to do? Anyways, a heads up for the next chapter… Maddie's past! We're going to get inside the head of our loveable Canadian friend. *smiles evilly while pulling out a hacking saw to open someone's head before hiding it and smiling like nothing happened*. Get your tissues ready, I based her off of Kotoura-san.


	5. Chapter 5

**Case #2 (Part 5)**

MADDIE POV (memories)

_The warm summer air wafted into the open playground. Maddie was swinging on the swingset, watching the other kids with secret envy. They were all playing their favorite game 'Avoid the Freak'. She watched as the new kids in the neighborhood, Sammy and Dean, played in the sandbox, with their oddball friend Castiel, whose older brother Gabriel still had his head buried in the sand next to them, struggling to get out. Testing her luck, she jumped off of the swingset and ran towards them. Before she could get their, however, she tripped over her feet and fell on her face. Castiel knew of her freakiness and quickly moved away, the new kids however, didn't. Her naked hand brushed against Dean's knee. _

\- The house burned brightly as Dean carried his brother out behind them, hoping, just hoping that Dad could get Mom out in time.-

"_Gah!" The young boy screamed as the Canadian made contact. _

"_S-sorry." She whispered, still out of it. Once she was back in focus she blurted, "I didn't know that your house burned down when you guys were little."_

"_How- how did you know that?" He screamed backing away from her in horror, dragging his brother along with him._

"_Because she's a freak." Peter sneered. The short sixth grader was standing in front of his goons, Toris and Feliks. "That's why she isn't allowed to play with us. Come on, before she infects you with her freakiness." Dean did as Peter said, and Sammy did to, but with a hint of concern on his face as he left her behind._

"_Papa?" Maddie asked, looking through the empty halls of their old home. She had decided that the playground wasn't fun with no one to play with. "Papa, where are you?" No reply. "Must be sleeping." She told herself. Heading up to her room, she couldn't help but let her hand touch the rail of the stairs._

_\- _Maddie's father headed up the stairs slowly but surely, heading towards his room. "It will all end soon." He whispered. "I can finally get away from all the torment."-

_That didn't sound good. "Papa!" She yelled, running towards the door to the master bedroom. The creaking of wood was the only sound as she opened the door. A pool of blood lay beneath the still figure of her dad. "Papa!" She screamed, running towards him. A fresh wound near his heart was seeping red onto his shirt, his face an ashen grey as more of his life source dribbled away. _

_"_Quoi?!_" Maddie's grandmother yelled at her mom. "_Vous ne pouvez pas simplement laisser derrière Maddie! Vous êtes sa mère!_"_

_"You try and raise that- that thing!" The sound of their argument carrying over the sound of Maddie's crying. She was sorry. She hadn't meant to make her dad kill himself or upset her mom. Looking down at her hands in horror she could feel the self-loathing resurface. It was all her fault. She didn't deserve their love. She should leave before anyone else got hurt._

_The slamming of the front door let Maddie know that her mother had left, never to return. Footsteps were walking slowly up the stairs, and seemed to deafen her with every sound. "_Fillette?" _Her grandmother cooed from outside the door, "_Se il vous plaît sortir de là." _Maddie opened the door, shakingly. Seeing her tears, her grandmother spoke softly, "_Vous pauvre, venir ici alors grand-mère peut mieux vous voir."

_Maddie frantically shook her head, her tears continuing even more. "_Non!"

"Chérie, viens ici. Je tiens à vous assurer que vous n'êtes pas blessé."

"Non, je ne veux pas te faire de mal!" _Her grandmother looked at her in a pitying way._

"Vous n'allez pas me faire du mal, ma chérie. Ça va_." She gestured for the small child to come closer, opening her arms for a hug. Maddie couldn't help but give in, running into the warmth that her grandmother provided. Her grandmother made sure to only touch areas where clothes covered skin, not wanting to cause her anymore pain. _

"Je suis désolé."

"Vous n'avez rien à m'excuser pour_." Her grandmother rocked her gently. Maddie could feel herself start to slip into sleep. She fought the nightmares that were sure to follow. They seemed to do that alot now. Haunt her dreams, putting her through the unspeakable torment of everyone she touched. "_C'est bien, ma chérie. Sommeil, vous aurez besoin de votre repos pour ce qui va venir." _The whisper carried her into her nightmare torn sleep. All Maddie could wish for was a solace that she would never find._

"_Yo, Maddie!" Mathias called after class, trying to catch up with the shy Canadian. She ducked her head, knowing what would come next as the Danish exchange student came closer. He caught up with her quicker than she imagined and began to babble. "So what are you doing later today? Going to your 'emo' corner or something? Why don't you talk much? Are you mute or something?" When she didn't reply, he continued, "Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something to offend you?" She looked at him long and hard and then shook her head. That didn't satisfy the curious high-schooler. "I bet I can make you talk!" He taunted. He then proceeded to poke her. Her eyes widened as a vision happened yet again from the contact, and an arm slowly wrapped around her waist to stop her fall._

\- No one liked him. Tina and Berwald had left the house, not wanting anything to do with him, that hot Norwegian chick across the street was the same way, and he was home alone yet again. He made his way towards his father's alcohol cabinet, and expertly got past the lock, pulling out the wanted liquid.-

"_What's wrong with her?" She heard Mathias's muddled voice as she came back to reality. She was lying on some soft sheets, the nurses office, more than anything. As she opened her eyes, she caught sight of the school doctor, Mr. Sadiq talking with a confused and worried Mathias._

"_I dunno!" He growled angrily. She shot up at the sound of his yelling, scaring both men senseless._

"_Maddie!" Mathias greeted. She looked at him with worry. If her vision was right, which it always was, he was drinking to escape sadness. "Is something wrong?" He asked as she continued to stare._

"_You really shouldn't drink, you know." She snapped before she could stop herself. His eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth. She had sworn not to screw up again. Sadiq looked back and forth between them._

"_What's she talking about, Mathias?"_

"_N-nothing." But Mathias's glare and stutter let the other two know that he knew what she was talking about. "I- I got to go." And he ran, never to try and talk with Maddie again._

**Translation**

Quoi?- What?

Vous ne pouvez pas simplement laisser derrière Maddie! Vous êtes sa mère!- You can't just leave Maddie behind! You're her mother!

Fillette- little girl (endearing term)

Se il vous plaît sortir de là- Please come out here

Vous pauvre, venir ici alors grand-mère peut mieux vous voir- You poor dear, come here so grandma can see you better

Chérie, viens ici. Je tiens à vous assurer que vous n'êtes pas blessé- Honey, come here. I want to make sure you're not hurt

Non, je ne veux pas te faire de mal!- No, I don't want to hurt you!

Vous n'allez pas me faire du mal, ma chérie. Ça va- You won't hurt me, honey. It's okay

Je suis désolé- I'm sorry

Vous n'avez rien à m'excuser pour- You have nothing to apologize for

C'est bien, ma chérie. Sommeil, vous aurez besoin de votre repos pour ce qui va venir- It's okay, honey. Sleep, you will need your rest for what is to come (more or less)

**Author's Notes:**

HAHA! The Winchesters made a secret cameo! In your face Gabriel! And so do a few other non-mainstream characters too. Well, that wasn't so bad to write, now I hope that none of you started to cry because that would be pretty lame. Now if you are wondering, yes, Maddie's Grandma is French and that is where Maddie learns most of her French, her grandma just doesn't use it as much as she did and that was why Maddie was a little rusty. So what should I do for the next chapter is my biggest problem… I don't really have a plan except that she tells Francis about it and then they get rescued. I really don't want to write anymore FruCan crap. *starts running into walls to try and make it feel better* Anyways, I can't wait for the explosion to happen.


	6. Chapter 6

FRANCIS POV

Francis stared at Maddie as she seemed to be lost in the past. What was with this girl? He had guessed from her occasional lost look that something bad had happened in her past involving her powers. She seemed reluctant to touch anything and always wore those dark gloves that seemed to become her prison. Even now, she subconsciously picked at the black fabric, trying to rid herself of them. "Maddie." He spoke, breaking her out of her reverie. Small tears threatened to escape her violet eyes, still drawn back in memories. "Tell me what happened."

"I- it's a long story."

"We've a lot of time."

She hesitated, but at Francis's approving gaze she continued. "When I was little, I used to babble about everything that I saw. I destroyed the people around me's lives, exposing their secrets. My mother abandoned me when I was seven because she couldn't handle my abilities…"

"What about your father?" She avoided his gaze, not ready to expose that fact yet. "Please? I would like to understand."

"He also couldn't handle my abilities either and…" She stopped suddenly, unable to go on. Francis held her as she started to cry again. "he died." Francis could tell that that wasn't what exactly happened but did not pry into it any further, for his _chére_'s sake. He was about to ask more questions when a loud voice from outside the door stopped him.

"Hey! What are you guys doing in there?!" Alfred's shout was slightly muffled by the door frame.

"Waiting for you of course, _amis_." Francis called back.

"What did you just call us you perverted frog!" Alice's voice was far louder than Alfred's. Francis and Maddie both had to suppress their giggles at the Brit's ignorance."And where's Maddie? You'd better not have done anything to her or I swear I will kick your-"

"I'm right here." Maddie finally spoke.

"Are you guys alright?" Felicia was out there too. "And why is the door locked?"

"Something trapped us in here. Maddie says that she sensed something bad and the door locked us in. We've been waiting for about an hour. Now if you are all done asking questions, we would really like to get out of here." A large crashing noise let them know that Ivan had arrived, the clumsy Russian always seemed to trip over his long scarf

"Here." He said unnecessarily.

"Hey, Ivan, can you break through the door?" Alfred asked.

"Breaking door easy. Just make sure to stand back on other side." A metal pipe was soon, hacking through the door, sending wood chunks flying.

"You do realize that I meant for you to just break it down, not hack it apart!" Alfred yelled above the noise, but the Russian didn't seem to hear him and continued. Once a man sized hole was there the others entered. Alfred's eyebrow raised itself at Francis's and Maddie's compromising position. Maddie was sitting in Francis's lap, her head half on his shoulder, body facing his own. She went bright red as she heard Alfred whistle and was about to get off of his lap when Francis pulled her back into his lap.

Alice, having the one track mind she did, lost it.

"WHAT IN BLOODY HELL WERE YOU TWO DOING IN HERE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO POOR MADDIE, FROG! I SWEAR IF YOU'VE DONE ANY INDECENT THING I WILL PERSONALLY KICK YOUR GOOD FOR NOTHING A-"

"Thank you, Alice." Alfred said, placing a hand on the seething girl's shoulder. "I think that we ALL get the idea of what you're feeling." Turning back to them he asked, "But seriously, what were you guys doing? We didn't… interrupt anything did we?" Maddie went tomato red to the point where she felt she would die of embarrassment. She was saved from explaining, thought, by the returning feeling of dread as her stomach began to churn once again. "Hey, Maddie? You don't look so good." She rested her head even more on Francis's shoulder, slumping against him.

"Maddie?" The Frenchman asked.

"It's back." She whispered as the feeling doubled and then tripled.

"We have to get out of here." Francis quickly stood up, picking her up as well. "Whatever locked us in is back." The others quickly nodded, and ran out of the room.

**Translations**

_amis_\- friends

**Author's Notes:**

Yes. I hated writing from Francis's POV. In my mind, in his head he is super over-dramatic so I made him the biggest of drama queens to write from. The joy. I do not apologize for the short part because I couldn't stand to write anymore of this. I will admit that I am having a hard time maintaining interest in the case so I will more than likely end it really quickly (it's just one of those cases). See next part.


	7. Chapter 7

MADDIE POV

"So what is this thing then?" Maddie asked as they all settled in around Roderich's living room. Until they figured out what was going on at the school, Alfred had dubbed it unsafe for any of them to go back, especially Maddie since she seemed to be most affected by it.

"Dunno. Seems like some sort of poltergeist but I doubt that a poltergeist could camouflage itself from Francis even if it wanted to. It leaves a very obvious aura." Alfred speculated. "Any other thoughts."

"I have something that might explain Maddie's reaction, aru." Tao piped up.

"Go ahead."

"Well, some of the monks who lived at the temple that I trained at had a similar reaction when dealing with demons and, on occasion, extremely powerful ghouls and monsters. It's a sort of sixth sense that some people are either born with or adapt. Remember when Darlene attacked Maddie?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she didn't go after anyone else that much did she? It's part of what I am talking about, aru. While the ability comes in handy when judging the strength of the enemy, it also makes you a giant target for supernatural activity. If that is what is going on with Maddie, then we are dealing with something much more powerful than any common poltergeist. We could be dealing with two things, in my opinion. THE poltergeist or a fox egg, aru."

"What's 'the' poltergeist? Or a fox egg for that matter." Maddie asked.

"Well," Alfred explained, pointing to a page in his scribbled on book, "THE poltergeist is like the mother of all poltergeists. It's sort of like a demon that convinces souls to become its minions as newer and weaker poltergeists until they grow more powerful through fear. I have no clue what a fox egg is though. It isn't in my book."

"It's not?" Ludwig asked from the corner of the room where he was standing, arms folded across his chest.

"Nope." He flipped through his book again.

"That's a first." Alice looked over his shoulder too look at it as well. "I thought that it had everything in there."

"Me too. Guess my dad didn't get everything."

Before Maddie could ask, Tao sputtered, "Look under the words demon shadow or demon fox."

"Oh, there it is. Thank goodness." He cleared his throat before reading. "A demon fox, originally known as a fox egg by the Asian society is a dark soul, trapped between astral plains. Unable to figure out what it needs to do, it destroys and in some cases kills the inhabitants or objects around it. Particularly powerful ones will eventually hatch into full fledged demons. The more it destroys and kills the more power it receives, and more hunger. If one gets power at an exponential rate, however, it can destroy itself and anything in the area with a blast of astral energy. The last case of a demon fox was last spotted at Mount Saint Helens, where it became too powerful and set the volcano off. Exorcism on page 253."

"That sounds like what's going on. What's the exorcism?" Alice snatched the book away from Alfred and quickly threw it back at him. "How can you read that?! What isn't scribbled on is gibberish!"

Alfred rolled his eyes, "I was taught how to read it. Just because you can't read Cherokee doesn't mean I can't. I'm not that dumb."

She huffed. "Just tell us what the exorcism is, smarty pants."

He mumbled as he traced his finger down the page. "Aha!" He cried when he found it. "We need to… actually it says we need to kill it. It says 'no known exorcism; best option is to destroy and salt area.' that's it."

"So how do we find it? We need to know where it is to kill it, aru." Tao said. All eyes fell on Maddie.

"I-I'm not sure that's the best idea. I might pass out if we get to close. That would be unhelpful, eh?"

"Yeah. I agree with _ma copine_." Francis dared anyone to speak out with his eyes. Maddie was blushing, yet again, and was wondering when her embarrassment would stop. It was obvious what was going on between her and the Frenchman, she had nothing to be ashamed of.

"Ve, we could always use the EVP's." Felicia spoke up. "If this thing is powerful then they will definitely pick up the signal."

"We've had them all around the school and they haven't gone on once." Alice pointed out.

"Wait." Maddie said. "Did you put any in the more odd places? Like the boiler room below the nurse's office?"

"The school has a boiler room?" Alice asked.

"It's an older school. The boiler room is closed off since there was this nasty accident that happened a few decades ago. Someone died down there."

"How?"

"I don't know. I just heard it from, Gil."

"GILBERT!" Ludwig shouted.

A few crashes, and a couple of shattering vases later, Gilbert was head first on the floor, a pie stuck in his hair, having fell down the stairs while trying to pie Roderich. "What?" he whined as Ludwig helped him up.

"You didn't tell Ivan or me that there vas an accident at the school vhen ve asked you if anything tragic had happened there."

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal. It happened before we came here. Some robber guy was hiding from some cops down there, tripped over something and impaled himself on one of the boiler pokers. An accident that happened before the school started being freaky."

"How long before?"

"A couple of years." There was a pause in the conversation before Gilbert burst out laughing, "Kesesesese- you should see your guys' faces. You all look like deer in headlights."

"**Jetzt ist nicht die Zeit für Lachen, Bruder. Dies könnte eine Frage von Leben und Tod sein. Dies könnte wie, was passiert, bevor ich vergessen können.**" Ludwig barked. His older brother stopped laughing. Whatever he had said sobered Gilbert up quickly

"**Vielleicht haben Sie gesagt, dass Sie sich nicht erinnern!**" Gilbert hissed

"**Ich weiß nicht,**" Ludwig shook his head, " **aber Sie leicht zu lesen, Bruder sind. Etwas geschah in dieser Nacht, die Sie erschreckt und macht Sie Geheimnisse zu bewahren. Jetzt bleiben ernst."** Gilbert stormed off, not bothering to hide the shock and anger from his eyes. Their unknown quarrel did not go unnoticed by the others.

"Ludwig," Felicia asked, "What's the problem? What did Gilbert say?"

"Nothing, Feli. Everything is okay. Ve should get to vork." Ludwig sighed, avoiding the Italian's eyes.

"Yes," Alice agreed, turning to Maddie, "Now where is this boiler room?"

**Translations:**

_ma copine_\- my girlfriend

**Jetzt ist nicht die Zeit für Lachen, Bruder. Dies könnte eine Frage von Leben und Tod sein. Dies könnte wie, was passiert, bevor ich vergessen können.**\- Now it not the time for laughter, brother. This could be a matter of life or death. This could end up like what happened before I forgot.

**Vielleicht haben Sie gesagt, dass Sie sich nicht erinnern!**\- I thought you said that you didn't remember!

**Ich weiß nicht, aber Sie leicht zu lesen, Bruder sind. Etwas geschah in dieser Nacht, die Sie erschreckt und macht Sie Geheimnisse zu bewahren. Jetzt bleiben ernst.**\- I don't but you are easy to read, brother. Something happened that night that frightens you and makes you keep secrets. Now stay serious.

**Author's Notes:**

Yeah. I'm a jerk. I made Prussia and Germany fight because I am evil! *laughs maniacally in the corner before snapping out of it, surprisingly like a mix of 2p England and 1p Russia* Anywho, we're going up against a demon fox! *says yay with no enthusiasm whatsoever* I don't really have much to say except for the fact that this case is going to be uber boring. I'll spoil everything RIGHT NOW! Francis is going to get kicked in the groin by a pole (his punishment for being in this story and corrupting Maddie). Everything is going to blow up. Gilbert is going to pants Roderich as he pays them even though they don't want it. Oh and did I mention that three of the people end up in the hospital? Should I just skip to the end of the case and explain everything that happened? PRETTY PLEASE I WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET AWAY FROM FRANCE! ... No? Okay. Just warning you the next part is going to be crappy. Don't say that I didn't warn you.


	8. Chapter 8

MADDIE POV

The entire school blew up before they could get there. Shards of metal flew in every direction as the building collapsed. Alarms went off in every car and house in the vicinity. In the middle of the torrent of energy was a large void. Sickly black and green blobs of light flitted in and out of the broken shambles of the school. A stray piece of pipe, flung towards them, hitting their only Frenchman, in the groin."What the hell!" Alfred shouted over the screaming of the wind (and Francis's moans). Gales gushed pass them as the weather took a turn for the worst.

"The Fox Egg must be blowing, aru!" Tao yelled out over the wind. "We need to get out of here before we are killed! There is nothing we can do now!" She made her way towards the van, seeking shelter, and was soon followed by Ivan.

"No. I promised that I would help, _everyone_." Maddie could hear Alfred over the wind somehow.

"Wait!" She cried out too late as he started to jog closer to the blob of energy. She heard Alice scream a few choice curse words, before running after him along with Ludwig and Felicia. Maddie stood there, unsure of what to do. Should she go after them? They wouldn't survive on their own against that thing. Shaking the unnerving feeling of dread, she charged into the vortex. Francis followed her, holding her close as the wind picked up even more speed, and the sickly feeling returning at full throttle. "Ugh," she groaned, falling to her knees in pain. Francis soon caught her.

"Maddie!" He called out to her. She was far too drowned by the pain to care or see his concern. "_Nous vous sortir d'ici_." He whispered in her ear so she could hear.

"But the others…" She whimpered.

"_Auront à gérer leur propre_." He softly commanded. In no state to walk, she crawled closer into his arms, leaving the vortex for the others to survive.

LUDWIG POV

Ludwig was surprised to find that the closer they got to the exploding spirit, the less loud it was. The once deafening sound was more of a small buzz in his ear. The wind, however was a different story. It tore at their clothes as they searched for their companion, eyes squinted as to protect themselves for the wind. What was Alfred thinking? Not that he did that normally, Ludwig noted. But even this was a little too extreme for their risk-taking leader. Felicia was struggling to stand next to him, her small and delicate frame being pushed every other direction at the same time. "Feli?" He said, hoarsely, the wind drying his tongue immediately.

"Ve?" She called, looking in vain for him.

"To your right." He chuckled.

"Oh," she muttered under her breath.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. But I fear that Alfred is not. Do you see Alice anywhere?"

"No. Lost sight of her a vhile ago. Ve should turn back and see if the others need our help."

"Alright," he heard her sigh. She wasn't the most courageous of people he knew, but she never liked to abandon her friends. There was silence as they traced their steps back. The noise soon returned, and this time, new debris had joined the fray. "Ludwig watch out!" Felicia cried as a dry wall came hurtling towards them. He dodged it barely, in time to see a inky black hand wrap around Felicia's ankle.

"Felicia!" He cried as the hand started to pull her back. She gasped as her head hit the hard ground, knocking her out cold. He quickly caught onto her limp arm, before the hand could do anything more. "Felicia? Are you okay? Felicia! Felicia vake up!" He commanded, his grip tightening. The inky hand pulled back even more, causing her hand to slip from his. "Felicia!"

ALICE POV

"ALFRED, YOU BLOODY IDIOT, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!" Alice yelled with rage. It had long since become easier to stand and walk. This must have been the heart of the spirit, the eye of the storm if you will. "If that good for nothing git get's in trouble, I swear I will punch him until he has six eyes instead of four." She fumed under her breath. It was common for him to do stupid things, but this was going to far. She swore if he wasn't her boss or her adoptive brother, she would have killed him a long time ago.

A flash of brown caught her attention. Alfred's jacket was caught on a support beam, from the long ago crumbled building. Frightened, she sprinted the rest of the distance. It was just the jacket, not a sight of the idiot who owned it. Taking a chance, she whispered. "_locant quod amissum est!_" No sooner, had she finished the incantation, did the glowing green light appear. Following her disguised familiar, Alice made her way past the school building graveyard. "Alfred? Alfred?" She started calling, like he was some sort of lost puppy. A groan from her left, made her see her lost companion. A gash was oozing red slowly but surely, across his temple, the offending rubble, resting within hands reach, blood spread across it like paint on a canvas. His clothes were torn, like he had been in a fight with a gorilla and a mountain lion at the same time.

"Idiot," she whispered. It was more of an endearing tone than anger, and she hung his coat around his shredded top. Feeling the ground, she could tell that _it _was pulsing beneath her. The Fox Egg was right under them. And it was about to bring an end to the town. Pushing Alfred away, in case it got ugly like it normally did, she grabbed his knife, and cut a thin line on her hand. Hissing at the stinging burn, she let the blood drip onto her finger as she drew the circle. In most cases she would have refrained from drawing the Enochian Blood Sigil Circle, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Wrapping her hand, and making a note to check for infection later, she began. "_Auxilium vocat veneficis praeterita et potestas Daemonis adjuvet prohibere finiendum cruciatus._" Other glowing figures approached. Her so called 'imaginary' friends appearing as their sorceress called upon their power to complete the spell.

"_Et qui cum eo actum est virtus, adiutorium meum pacis._" Her voice was low with power as the light began to swirl around her. Mists of lavender and green coursed around her, welcoming her into their mists like a hypnotic fairy circle. She could not join the unsung melody of lights, nor could she stop it. She had to let it flow through herself. It was so rejuvenating. If only her parents could see her now. Before was nothing. This was sorcery. She greedily grabbed for the powerful warmth, willing it to feel her.

"Remember, keep your greed in check. You must let the power go as always." Hook instructed, the pirate spirit whispered in her ear. That was her curse. Her now iridescent eyes faded as she let the power go to crash into the maelstrom of evil. Power of polar opposites fought viciously against one another, tearing and reforming in their deadly dance. Then it was over as soon as it begun. The light swallowed the hidden force beneath the ground. The presence that she had barely noticed was lifted, and it became easier to breathe. Drained, she could feel her knees buckle below her, and she fell to the ground. Forcing herself to stay awake, she stumbled towards Alfred's still body.

"Please let the git not be dead," she muttered to no one in particular, "or I swear I will kill him a second time." She plopped down next to him, and quickly shoved him awake.

"W-what?" He sputtered as he woke up.

"Good you're alive." He sat up and she quickly straddled his legs and put her hands on his shoulders. Then she throttled him. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING YOU IDIOT! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN I SWEAR I WILL-"

"Thanks, Alice." He smiled. She blinked, before blushing and stopping her screaming.

"It was no big deal, idiot." She whispered. She helped him to his feet, he was still in a daze, and would need to see a doctor for the cut on his temple. It had stopped bleeding for the most part, but was still more than likely to be more serious than it looked. Alice was still exhausted, but managed to keep both of them upright and begin to move towards their friends.

"Where did the fox thing go?" He asked, a hint of pain in his voice as the dizziness started getting to him.

"It was destroyed. I killed it."

"H-how? That thing felt huge!"

"I- I just did okay. End of story." She gripped her wrapped up palm. He noticed.

"Alice what is that?"

"Nothing, now we need to get to the others. I haven't seen them, and I don't think that that is a good sign."

"But Alice, your hand." When he didn't drop it, she abruptly let go of him and stormed off on her own, leaving her fearless leader to wobble to his own feet and walk the rest of the way back.

**Translations:**

_Nous vous sortir d'ici_\- we are getting you out of here

_Auront à gérer leur propre_\- will have to manage on their own

_locant quod amissum est!_\- locate what is lost! (Latin spell)

_Auxilium vocat veneficis praeterita et potestas Daemonis adjuvet prohibere finiendum cruciatus_\- I call upon the sorcerers of past to help bring an end to the demon and its torture.

_Et qui cum eo actum est virtus, adiutorium meum pacis_\- I evoke those with power above, to aid my cause of peace (more or less- it's freaking latin. Grandpa Rome screws everything up)

**Author's notes:**

Yeah. Almost everyone gets knocked out this chapter. Also, the inky hand that has Felicia is something from the finale. Let's just say that there is another player on the chessboard, who is more of a puppetmaster than anything. Anyways, did you see the USUK in the chapter? I made it pretty obvious. Don't worry, the next chapter will sum everything up and involve the bad touch trio. YAY! This case is almost done! I'm so happy!


	9. Chapter 9

LUDWIG POV

"I want to pay you, even if the school was destroyed." Roderich told them as they packed, ready to leave. Ludwig could tell more than anything that the father like figure was doing it from seeing the lowered moods of the group. No case had ever gone this bad before. Half of the neighborhood was still recovering from the 'mini-tornado' that had hit them two nights ago. They had been recovering for the past while, with Felicia and Maddie, who had apparently suffered a nasty gash across her back from some debris that had been flying around along with her mysterious sickness that had yet to go away, still in the hospital. Alfred had forced his way out of the hospital, in his usual obnoxious fashion, but had taken to sulking in the corner.

Ludwig had never known Alfred to seem so upset and blamed it on the failed case. Something was going on in that American's head. Clearing his thoughts of the past few days, he said, "**Nein. Alfred wird das Geld nicht annehmen. Bestes, um uns zu Fuß entfernt.**" He told his caretaker.

"No. We don't want your money," Alfred said, proving Ludwig right, "We failed the case so you can't pay us. Company rules."

"But your friends are in a hospital-"

"We can pay for it, don't worry. Though, we did make sure to salt the grounds of the school, there won't be any evil spirits there for a while, even with the Fox Demon's death acting like a beacon."

Before Roderich could argue, Gilbert snuck up behind him and pulled down his pants. Roderich was quick to pull them back up and start chasing after his older ward. "Your welcome," Ludwig heard Francis whisper to Alfred, making him suspicious.

"GAH!" Returned his attention to Roderich before he could ask the Frenchman. Roderich had apparently walked into one of Antonio's traps again. He hung upside down by the ankle, arms crossed and looking sternly at Gilbert and the Spaniard that soon joined him. "I swear that both of you will be getting what is coming to you. Elizaveta!" He called. The boys paled and soon ran off in a hurry before the Hungarian could get there.

During this time the packing was finished. "Let's go before he offers us money again." Alfred said forlornly, before jumping into the drivers seat. As Ludwig was about to enter the van, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Behind him was Gilbert.

"**Schauen. Ich verstehe, dass ich sauge an, ein Bruder manchmal und ich halten Geheimnisse, aber Sie müssen mir glauben. Was passiert ist, ist nicht etwas, das Sie sich merken wollen. Bitte glauben Sie mir.**" Gilbert pleaded, placing a note in his hand.

"**Ich glaube dir, Bruder. Gute Bedingungen?**"

"**Ja.**" Gilbert replied. "Ludwig Beilschmidt, come around sometime. Don't be such a stranger." He winked playfully and scurried off. Ludwig shook his head. His brother sure hadn't changed at all over the past twelve years. He probably never would. Looking down on the note it said.

_You really should ask Felicia out when she gets out of the hospital. I don't care if she has a boyfriend, you two are perfect for one another._

_\- Gil_

_p.s. I was the one that stole your socks.- I regret nothing, your socks are really warm_

_p.p.s. Whatever happened to Felicia, stop blaming yourself, it wasn't your fault._

Ludwig folded the note neatly and shoved it in his pocket. Oh how he wished he could believe his brother on the last part. After all, he was the reason that Felicia might not wake up again.

**Translations:**

**Nein. Alfred wird das Geld nicht annehmen. Bestes, um uns zu Fuß entfernt**\- No. Alfred will not accept the money. Best to let us walk away.

**Schauen. Ich verstehe, dass ich sauge an, ein Bruder manchmal und ich halten Geheimnisse, aber Sie müssen mir glauben. Was passiert ist, ist nicht etwas, das Sie sich merken wollen. Bitte glauben Sie mir**\- Look. I understand that I suck at being a brother sometimes and that I keep secrets, but you have to believe me. What happened is not something that you want to remember. Please believe me.

**Ich glaube dir, Bruder. Gute Bedingungen?**\- I believe you, brother. Good terms?

**Author's Notes:**

TADA! We are now done with the 2nd case. Only five more before the finale. Anyways, who feels bad for Ludwig? I hope you all cry yourselves to sleep at night knowing how much pain he is in. Not really. Anyways, don't worry Felicia is going to wake up, but she, Maddie, and Francis (thank goodness) will not be in the next case. Francis is staying behind to take care of them while the others do a different case. Get ready for some feels. Our next case is about (drumroll please)... Alice! and her weird imaginary friends and mean family. Don't worry we are going to Britain still but will not see Alice's parents.


End file.
